In the filed of plasma physics, a need exists for means and methods for producing suprathermal ordered ions having stored energy in a confining toroidal plasma column that is in equilibrium. This is because the suprathermal ordered ions can produce a net energy gain from fusion reactions in the bulk equilibrium plasma; also neutrons result that are useful in the numerous applications to which neutrons have heretofore been applied. One device for confining the plasma is the tokamak described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,702,163. The tokamak apparatus at Princeton University ohmically heats an ionized gas to produce a toroidal plasma column that is magnetically confined to produce a plasma having a charged particle number density of 10.sup.14 particles/cm.sup.3, an electron temperature T.sub.3 = 1 - 2 keV, an ion temperature T.sub.i = 0.6 keV, and a confinement time of at least 20 - 25 msec. Also, it is desirable to sustain the energy of ordered suprathermal ions that are produced by injecting a neutral beam to increase the time the ions react with the bulk target plasma during the time the ions slow down in the bulk target plasma.